Trailer wheel for motor trucks



A. MILLS.

TRAILER WHEEL FOR MOTOR TRUCKS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9.1919.

Patented Oct 311 11922.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY Patented @ct. Ell, 19.232.

an'rrrun MILLS, or SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

TRAILER WHEEL FOR IVL'O'IOR TRUCKS.

Application filed September 9, 1919. Serial No. 322,738.

'vehicle be a two wheel vehicle or a four wheel vehicle, is entirely independent of the other wheel or wheels.

The invention comprises a spring mounting for each wheel individual thereto, permitting up and down movements of the body on the wheel so' that the vehicle will carry perishable freight over rough roads, as, for instance, fruit, berries, soft vegetables like tomatoes, and other similar commodities, and deliver the same in good condition. The trailer has the advantage of following the same tracks as the power machine drawing it. Furthermore, the construction ofthe invention permits the lowering of the first cost and the upkeep whereby the trailer is ca- 'pable of manufacture and maintenance at low cost.

Each wheel is mounted on a floating axle construction so that the separate wheels readily accommodate themselves to unevenneses in the roadway without any'movement. or only a very slight movement of the body of the trailer.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following de tailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salientfeatures of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the wheel mountings with a small portion of the body of the trailer shown.

Figure 2 is a cross section through the body or platform of the trailer showing two wheels side by side, one wheel being in ele vation and the other in section.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a platform 1, supported by sills 2 or otherwise, and which may be taken as representative of a trailer body of any suitable con struction. In the case of a two wheel vehicle there is also provided a cross beam 3 which may be duplicated in the case of a four wheel vehicle, but as the construction of the invention may be substantially the same in both two and four wheel vehicles, a description of one set of wheels will answer for both sets of wheels, On opposite sides of the mid-point of the beam 3 are tubular cylindrical guides 4, 5, arranged in pairs, with the guides of'each pair spaced apart bv an appropriate distance. The cylinders which form the guides are open at each end.

Each guide is provided'with caps 6, 7'at op- 'posite ends held together by bolts 8 traversing them so that the guides are appropriately braced. The caps at the upper ends of the guidespartly close the cylinders are themselves closed by screw plugs 9 or in other appropriate manner, accessible through the beam 3 so that the plugs maybe placed or removed. at will. The bottom caps 7 surround but do not close the guides. Within each tubular guide and 5 is a block or head 10 so arranged as to fit snugly yet slide freely in the guide. Extending for a distance from the lower end of each guide through the wall thereof toward the other end of the guide is a longitudinal slot 11 traversed by a rod or shaft 19. mounted in the respective head 10. Each head may be made of two or more sections fastened together by bolts 13 or in other manner to constitute separable journal hearings for the rod 12, which latter is'made fast in a hub 13 constituting the hub ofa wheel 14: of any suitable construction. In the drawing the wheel is shown as made up of spokes 15, a felly 16 and a rim or tire 17,

which latter may be a metallic tire, or a solid rubber tire, or other suitable form of tire.

Each head 10 carries a hollow guide pin 18 for aspring 19 engaging the head 10 at one end and at the other end engaged by a follower block 20. Between the block 20 and the head 6 of each guide there is lodged another spring 21. The head 10 is provided with an oil passage or hole 22 communicating with the guide pin 1.8. The arrangement is such that from time to time each plug 9 may be removedand lubricant be introduced into the guide sleeve t or 5, as the case may be, this lubricant readily finding its way through the spring 21, follower 20,

fast to the heads 10, thereby lubricating them.

, .lhe follower 20 moves in its tube to a certain extent independently of either or the coil springs. In other words, each follower 2O floats between the two springs but is not permanently attached to either. The vibrations of the lower springs 19 are transmitted through the follower to the upper spring 21, which will, cushion or deaden said vibrations. 'The entire independence of the ,t'i' coil springs housed in the tube makes the-wheel mounting a very much easier riding one than it'only a single coil spring wer'eused in each tube. The wheel niount'ing of the presentinvention is partic ularly adaptedlor trailers which are usually light vehicles and which are more easily jolted'i-vhile traversing roads. The double spring follower constructionprovides a resilient suspension for the wheel which makes it possible to 'load ripe fruits and vegetables upon the trailer and deliver the same in good condition after travel over rough roads. I I I The sides of the hub 13 may be made partially flat so as to steady the wheelbetween the guides 4 and '5. and relieve the heads 10 to aicertain extentof side strains.- To aidin stifiening the wheel structure the tubular g e 5 aremade ast-to a brace r 23, 111 turnmadeiattto the beam'i'l. hen the trailer-is moving; along the ground the Wheels are sustained sol y by th p ings 19 and 21, these springs being arranged on opposite sides of each wheel so that the wheelfis balanced by the springs. The ,wheels are wholly independent of each other having no .connection' whatever t'rom wheel to wheel. When a motor vehicle is traveling along ,aroadway with a trailer, embodying the invention, being drawn by the, motor vehicle, the trailer will follow in the tracks Oif the main vehicle. Should, however, the trailer meet small obstructions vor the wheels move into ruts each wheel'will give in an up and down direction without causing the vehicle to tip in the manner which occurs with wheels joined by axles. Consequently there is less-liability of the vehicle upsettingthan with vehicles having axles, and the load may be piled higher than usual on the vehicle without rendering it unstable. Fragile .or easily damaged. commodities can be transported with but small liability of damage on account of the floating mounting of the body on the wheels and the total independ ence of the wheels with respect to. each other.

In addition to the braces 23 other braces 24 connecting thetubular guides 4 and 5 with the sills 2 or partscarried thereby may beemployed. Since theheads or blocks 10 and the followers 20 have more or less play axle, a hollow. guiding pi'nerected on the head in such position that; the bore of the plnjoins said lubricant passage, a collspring surround ng the pm and extend ng. above the latter and resisting upwardmovementlof the head within, the guide, and means whereby lubricant inay be fed through the spring, hollow pin and passage to the rod constituting the axle.

2. A wheel structure and mounting vehicles, comprising a pair of juxtaposedtubular guides spaced apart crosswise f, the Ive.- hiole, a wheel received within thespaee between the guides, heads ,slldably received within the guides, a rod mounted in the heads and bridging the space between the guides, a wheel mounted onthe rod, coil springs neach ofthe guldes above the head, each head havnigja lubricant passage leading to the rod, a hollow guiding 'pin' provided on-each head with its bore joining the lubricant passage, one otthe springs in ea'ch I guide surrounding saidhollow pin, ayfollower in each guide having a central passprings, a removable plug in the upper end of the guide, said plug when. removed permitting the introdu'ctionof; lubricant :for the axle,'with thelubricantjpassing through the coil springs and central passageway in the H follower and through the.hollowpinand lubricant passage in the head.

v3. A vehicle wheel mounting compr sing a pair of parallel guides in the form of cylinders, said guides being closed at theirs-up, per ends butopen ,at the lower ends, a head slidable within each guide, a slot provided in each guide and extending from the lower end upwardly, rod constituting a wheel' sageway and mounted betweenf the coil axle journaled at its ends in each headand slidable in said slots, and springs interposed between the closed upper end of the guides and the heads, whereby the weight of the vehicle, is sustained by compression of said each guide and located above the head," one spring being interposedbetween the. follow- 7 er and head and a second spring. being interposed between. the follower and theupper end of the guide 7 4.. A wheel mounting comprisingan axle, head receiving one end of said axle and springs, a follower slidably received within i serving as a journal therefor, a cylindrical guide slidably receiving said head, a pin joined to said guide, a coil spring surrounding the pin and of a length greater than the pin, a follower slida ble Within the guide and seating the upper end of said coil spring, a second coil spring having its lower end seated upon the upper side of the follower and bearing against the upper end of the guide, the'follower moving independently of the head, the head moving Without resistance downwardly Within the guide.

5. A vehicle having a plurality of independently mounted Wheels, each Wheel mounting comprising a pair of cylindrical parallel guides, heads slidable in the guides, a rod journaled in the heads andconstituting the Wheel axle, springs interposed between the upper ends of the guides and the heads, caps at each end of each guide, bolts passing through each pair of caps and unit- 'ing the heel mounting to the vehicle, a

'wheel mounting, all of said braces being Wholly disconnected from any of the movable parts 01 said Wheel mounting whereby every Wheel is individually mounted With respect to the vehicle and exerts no influence in moving the other Wheel.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afliXed my signature.

ARTHUR MILLS. 

